...Is Democracy the best form of government? (25 marks) Democracy is a system of government by where the whole population or all the eligible members of a country are able to vote for who they think would best represent them and their country. Democracy isn’t always the best form of government but when you have it, it usually seems to work best as it provides freedom in every state and country for the people rather than autocratic states or country. Having more freedom allows people to choose and criticize their own government if they are doing a good thing for the people or not doing the right thing for example not taking into account the peoples opinion on whether or not say 16 year olds should be allowed to vote. Also even though the people of the country have the right to vote for their government they also have the extension of thinking what should their nation be like and what the policy of their nation would be. Despite this, even though they are allowed to choose their government there should be no reason to why the people cannot be as free under an autocratic government as in a democratic government. In comparison to that democracy is the best form of democracy as it represents the people of its country, making it the government by the people and with the people and for the people. The government represents the people as it was them who elected that candidate into the parliament due to their manifesto making them legit and not a slave of the people but to represent...
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... ILORIN. NAME: NWAKILE CHILOTAM MADELEINE CLASS: SS 202 SUBJECT: ENGLISH LANGUAGE TOPIC: YOU ARE A SPEAKER IN A DEBATE ON THE TOPIC DEMOCRACY IS THE BEST SYSTEM OF GORVERMENT FOR AFRICA. WRITE YOUR SPEECH FOR OR AGAINST IT. DATE: 9TH JANUARY, 2015. DEBATE: DEMOCRACY IS THE BEST SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT FOR AFRICA Good day the Honourable Moderator, Impartial Panel of Judges, Accurate Timekeeper, Co-debaters, My Fellow Students, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am Nwakile Chilotam. I am here to propose the motion which states that “Democracy is the best system of government for Africa”. Before I go on, I will like to give a simple definition of the word, “Democracy”. Democracy is a governmental term which according to late Abraham Lincoln means “the government of the people, by the people and for the people. In other words it is a government where everyone has an equal right to choose their leaders. There is no doubt that democracy is the best system of government not only for Africa but for the whole world at large. I am going to prove this with the following points. Democratic governance involves election of leaders, freedom of speech, freedom of press, accountability, rule of law, equal justice among others and all these are bought about by the power given to the people. It gives people the power to choose who represents them. Democracy gives the citizens of Africa the chance to get involved in governance and in shaping their destinies. This happens by giving citizen the power...
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...Introduction In this era when individuals are questioning the legitimacy and wisdom of unregulated free markets, issues are raised about the most efficient form of economic activity and the best role for government in an economy. These issues have been discussed at many points in the past, and different societies have come to different conclusions regarding political and economic systems. In the United States, and many developed nations around the world, the view has often been that democracy accompanied by capitalism, offers the best, most efficient use of resources and governments guided by those principles assure the best outcomes for their populations. Other countries have adopted very different governing principles. Communist doctrine, as adopted by some nations, endorses the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership of the means of production and property (Communism: The failure of an utopian system, 2008). The civilization is governed by an individual, or individuals, whose function is to ensure the efficiency of the society as a whole. As an ideal, the communist doctrine defines a just city as one that eliminates the need for its citizens to wish to exploit each other. History appears to indicate that in practice, however, the communist vision cannot be fulfilled since “absolute power (which is given to the leader) corrupts absolutely” (Martin, 2009). Human nature does not appear to manage total supremacy well. 49 When...
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...WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? Andrew Heywood The origins of the term 'democracy' can be traced back to Ancient Greece. Like other words ending in 'cracy' - autocracy, aristocracy, bureaucracy and so on -democracy is derived from the Greek word kratos, meaning 'power' or 'rule'. Democracy thus stands for 'rule by the demos', demos meaning 'the people', though it was originally taken to imply 'the poor' or 'the many'. However, the simple notion of 'rule by the people' does not get us very far. The problem with democracy has been its very popularity, a popularity that has threatened the term's undoing as a meaningful political concept. In being almost universally regarded as a 'good thing', democracy has come to used as little more than a 'hurrah! word', implying approval of a particular set of ideas or system of rule. Perhaps a more helpful starting point from which to consider the nature of democracy is provided by Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered in 1864 at the height of the American Civil War. Lincoln extolled the virtues of what he called 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people'. What this makes clear is that democracy serves to link government to the people, but that this link can be forged in a number of ways - government of, by and for the people. Nevertheless, the precise nature of democratic rule has been the subject of fierce ideological and political debate. The next section will look at alternative models of democracy. For the...
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...Democracy Democracy is a word frequently used in British Politics. We are constantly told that we live in a democracy in Britain and that our political system is "democratic" and that nations that do not match these standards are classed as "undemocratic". The concept of "democracy" is contestable. It is understood by many people to mean a form of government in which a significant portion of the governed society has a franchise to elect members of the governing body. Other observers would argue that a "true" democracy is a system of government that embraces a universal adult franchise. While flaws exist in all democratic systems of government, most advocates accept Churchill's dictum that contemporary democracy as we know it is the least bad of all systems of government. What is democracy? The popular understanding of the term "democracy" is that there are three basic forms: direct, representative and constitutional. Direct democracy is a form of government in which the right to participate in making political decisions is exercised directly by all citizens, acting under procedures of majority rule. In large states, direct or participative democracy is not possible. Representative democracy is a form of government in which the citizens exercise the same right of participation in making political decisions, not in person but through elected representatives. However, different representative political structures can produce substantially different outcomes. There is no simple...
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... concept or model of democracy, but clearly a pluralism or plurality of different theories and models. The concept of "democracy" is contestable. It is understood by many people to mean a form of government in which a significant portion of the governed society has a franchise to elect members of the governing body. Other observers would argue that a "true" democracy is a system of government that embraces a universal adult franchise. While flaws exist in all democratic systems of government, most advocates accept Churchill's dictum that contemporary democracy as we know it is the least bad of all systems of government. What is democracy? The popular understanding of the term "democracy" is that there are three basic forms: direct, representative and constitutional. Direct democracy is a form of government in which the right to participate in making political decisions is exercised directly by all citizens, acting under procedures of majority rule. Representative democracy is a form of government in which the citizens exercise the same right of participation in making political decisions, not in person but through elected representatives. Constitutional democracy developed to counter this possibility and is a form of representative democracy in which the powers of the majority are enshrined in constitutional provisions designed to guarantee the individual and collective rights of all citizens. There is an abundant literature relating to democracy theory, with countless...
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...University of the People, HIST 1421 Greek and Roman Civilization, Written Assignment 2 Compare & Contrast: Government Types in Ancient Greece The ancient Greeks were enthralled by many aspects of life, such as art, philosophy, and warfare, just to name a few. They differed on a great many subjects as well, but it could be argued that the one thing that was prevalently discussed among them was how should the people be ruled and by whom? Like all things in the history, the ancient Greek city-states did not settle on one conclusion to this question. Instead, they devised and implemented a wide array of forms for governments over many centuries. These conclusions ranged from absolute power in possession by one person to governing powers being split amongst the masses. There were five forms of governance that were notable during the era of ancient Greece. They were the monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. Some of these government types were quite akin to others, but ultimately, there was always something that each had that made them distinctive from the others....
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...Aristocracy (Greek ἀριστοκρατία aristokratía, from ἄριστος aristos "excellent," and κράτος kratos "power") is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule.[1] The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best".[2] In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy. In later times, aristocracy was usually seen as rule by a privileged group (the aristocratic class), and contrasted withdemocracy.[1] ------------------------------------------------- Concept The concept evolved in Ancient Greece, whereby a council of famous citizens was commonly used and contrasted with direct democracy in which a council of male citizens was appointed as their "senate". The Greeks did not like the concept of monarchy, and as their democratic system fell, aristocracy was upheld.[1] In Rome, the Republic consisted of an aristocracy as well as consuls, a senate, and a tribal assembly. Later, aristocracies primarily consisted of an elitearistocratic class, privileged by birth and often by wealth. Since the French Revolution, aristocracy has generally been contrasted with democracy, in which all citizens hold some form of political power. However this distinction is often oversimplified. In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes describes an aristocracy as a commonwealth in which the representative of the citizens is an assembly by part. Simply put, a government when only a certain part of the general public can represent the public. Modern depictions...
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...Jordan Gabson Writing and Rhetoric Tuesday April 30, 2015 Democracy vs. Communism Communism has always been used as secret weapon to make the poor believe that being rich is inappropriate, and that the poor have less because the rich people took the money away from them. In reality, the communist government wants to take the money from the wealthy to make the governing body itself rich. Democracy, on the other hand, promotes capitalism, which allows economic freedom, which helps political freedom; efficiency, economic growth, and everybody having the opportunity to start the business that he or she desires. Communism and democracy are two different ideologies that have each had a great impact in the world. Communism can be defined as a socioeconomic structure that stands for the establishment of classless, egalitarian and stateless society. Democracy, on the other hand, is a political system of governance either carried out by the people directly or by elected representatives. “Democracy may not be the perfect form of government, but sure it is way better than communism” said Jones in his journal, Power and Democracy Education Every single human being in the world knows that this is not true. Everybody knows that communism is a secret weapon that the rulers in the countries where communism is practiced use it to enrich themselves, their families and their friends. Communism is...
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...Even the worst form of Democracy is better than Dictatorship. Democracy is a process not an event. Democracy, like anything in world, has its significance and its disadvantages at the same time. So, the question arises as to what really is democracy and in what aspects is it different from dictatorship. Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Therefore, one can call democracy as the will of the people. This definition is self explanatory as to the advantages of democracy. How can a thing be the will of the people living in the land and still not be advantageous to them? This question explains that democracy is a cure to certain ills; it is the voice of people. However, democracy is not as clean as it looks from the outside, it does has its own foes that needs to be answered so for that purpose we are going to compare it with dictatorship and in conclusion establish which system is better than the other. Like democracy, dictatorship has also its own advantages and disadvantages. Dictatorship is believed to be a system where the power is centralized and rests with one person called the dictator. As it is a centralized system of governance it carries with it all the advantages a centralized system has and it has to cater to all the disadvantages a centralized system has to deal with. However, it is to be regretted in the very beginning that dictatorship has got a much worse of image as compared to democracy due to certain reasons, which...
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...Democracy and Communism Looking at democracy through both its weaknesses and strengths in comparison with other forms of government makes it evident that it is the best form of political system we have. In a democracy, the government is the spokesperson for their people and the needs they would like to be met. The government is a group of people in the state who have an authority to act on behalf of that state. A democracy is a state in which citizens vote to choose the best candidate to be the leader of the country. Democracy appeared from liberalism, which is the ideology when individuals develop their capacities to the fullest. A democracy reflects the liberal value that individuals are responsible for their own choices. Citizens can be free to run their lives as they want. Democracy requires an attitude of mind, a belief that every citizen has the right to outspeak and hear what is going on. However, one of the challenges of a democratic electoral system is even if we have the right to express our views, we would not take advantage of it because of its unpredictable consequences. Despite all the democratic weaknesses of this ideology, democracy is still highly consistent and about unpredictable outcomes. What makes democracy highly consistent is not knowing what the next election turnout will be, but having confidence that the candidate with a majority of votes would be elected. The essential goal of democracy is to provide a fair degree of uncertainty. What makes...
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...and assess deliberative democracy as alternative to representative democracy 1. Introduction Democracy can be defined as a government system in which the main power in making every government level decision is made by investing the power in public. There are many types of democracies. The main and important form of democracy which has dominated more than half of the world is the representative democracy (TORRES, 2006). However, there are other types of democracies as well which have been found by researchers to be of vital importance. Deliberative democracy is that form of democracy which has started taking its place. There are many difference and similarities between representative and deliberative democracy. This essay comprises of the detailed discussion on how deliberative democracy can be utilized in place of representative democracy. The importance of deliberative democracy is also mentioned along the conclusions in the end. 2. Representative democracy Representative democracy is one of the oldest forms of democracies. In a representative democracy, all the eligible citizens are allowed to elect their official representative. That official representative is selected on the basis of the area, domination or any other basis. It varies from one country to another. The definition of “eligible” citizen also varies from one country to other. These elected representatives of the public then represent that specific group of people in government (Stasavage, 2007). The main...
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...Abstract This paper seeks a philosophical insight of democracy in general and American democracy in particular by unfolding the paradoxes entailed to whittle a credible conclusion. It attempts to explore contradictions of democracy whether democracy is a best system of governance? Is true democracy possible? Has it to be moral in character? Why other systems of governance tend to challenge the basic fabrics of democracy? Why democracy has turned out to be more productive than other forms of government? Then focus shifts to paradoxes entailed in self evident truth of American democracy. Is American democracy a representative of a true democracy? Does it cater the smaller factions of society? Has the democratic system fostered the rights of liberty, justice, life and pursuit of happiness to good effect for masses once challenged by terrorism, racism, poverty and recession? What good it has brought to its people? Why does America deserve to lead world community? Finally, conclusion is inquired about by addressing the question that How American dream can be pursued in its true democratic meaning? Isn’t it strange that few render democracy as the bludgeoning of the people, by the people, for the people? On the other hand, for some, it is a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people; a government after the principles of eternal justice, the unchanging law of God; the idea of freedom. Idea of democracy as rule of people traces its expression from Athens...
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...The term "democracy" originally meant people rule or more specifically rule by the people. A democracy is a form of government that stressed universal suffrage, multiparty elections, and majority rule. The term did not contain any unjustified positive connotations. Finally, after an American Revolution and one century after the Progressive Era the distinction between a democracy and a republic is gradually disappearing. During present times the term democracy is now considered a synonym for republic. Is democracy really the best form of government? According to Plato, democracy does not seem ideal and is flawed in numerous accounts. Can this form of government that we have been fighting so hard for be that harmful to us? Socrates was not executed for preaching democracy. He was executed for corrupting the youth of Athens by teaching them to think for themselves by asking questions, called the Socratic Method. Plato considers the extreme alternatives to having a democratic society that isn’t fit for it. There can be various complications with a pure democratic society. First, Plato argues that people in a democracy will tend to vote themselves only what is pleasing to them. For example, if people did not like wars, they simply will not have them but if a majority of the society was aggressive for any reason they will. As long as the will of the people is present, there is no need for anyone to exercise authority and no one has to submit to it. Plato views democracy is being...
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...Critical Response on Democracy DeVry University Political Science 330 July 16, 2011 Democracy when looked at as a system of government is when power is vested in the people who rule either directly or indirectly through freely elected officials. (democracy. (n.d.) The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition, n.d). There are certain criteria and conditions that must be place in order for a government to be considered democratic. In a democratic society the government will get its power form the people that it is to govern over. The people will elect representatives who are given the responsibility of being their voice in the state capital or countries capital. The representative’s job is to make sure they are trying to do what is in the best interest of the people that they represent. This way is called a representative democracy. The representatives under this type of representation are allowed to be in office for a specific period of time through elections. When they have completed the set term they were elected for then they must step down or try to stay in office by seeking re-election. (Dr. Almon Leroy Way, n.d.). Today you have current events that provide evidence of democracy at work in America. Looking at 2006 and 2007, our economy started to collapse and you could see that the American public as a whole was not happy with the direction of the economy and the government. They had grown weary of the War in Iraq and the drain on America’s...
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